Rush doc wins Tribeca audience award

NEW YORK — Tribeca Film Festival attendees have selected the rockumentary “Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage” for the fest’s 2010 Heineken Audience Award.

Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn’s Canadian feature received the $25,000 award Saturday night at the TFF Wrap Party in Chelsea’s Altman Building. The film chronicles the 42-year history of the band, whose status as a heavy metal act has provoked online debate for several years. Interviews with fans such as Gene Simmons, Billy Corgan and Jack Black are featured alongside profiles of Rush bandmates Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.

“The best documentary films are just great stories with characters who jump off the screen, and that is certainly the case with ‘Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage,’ ” said TFF executive director Nancy Schafer. An intimate but energetic portrayal of one of the most prolific rock bands, ‘Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage’ highlights the juxtaposition of music and film as an art form and we hope that Rush fans and audiences around the world embrace the film the way Tribeca audiences have.”

“Receiving the Heineken Audience Award at Tribeca means a lot to us as Rush has always been a band of the people,” said directors McFadyen and Dunn. “It was great to see Rush fans and non-fans enjoy the movie together.”

The Encounters section film had its world premiere on April 24 and will screen again Sunday at noon and 9pm at the Village East Cinemas. Alliance Films is repping sales for the project.